Phonograph



, Sept. 6, 1932. A. v. BODINE PHONOGRAPH Original Filed y 1926 2Sheets-Sheet 1 A ORNEY INVEN TOR.

A. YBooZzLm? Y A. V.BODINE Sept. 6, 1932-.

PHONOGRAPH Original Filed y 1. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 map INVENTOR.

- A.V:Bodi.m

I AT RNEY Patented Sept. 6, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENToFFIcE ALFRED V.BODINE, OF FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO DICTAPHONE CORPO- RATION,OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF NEWYORK I IPI-IONOGRAPHOriginal application filed May 1, 1926, Serial No. 105,989. Divided andthis application filed April 27, H n

1927. Serial No. 186,955.

This invention relates to improvements in sound recording and soundreproducing mechanism for phonographs, especially those used forrecording and reproducing dicta- 5 tion.

This application is a division of my copending application, S. N.105,989, filed May 1,1926.

An object of this invention is to provide.

a simple, small and light-weight sound recording and reproducingmechanism .which can be economically manufactured and easily assembled.V

Another objectof this invention is to provide a sound recording andreproducing mechanism in which most of the parts-are formed of sheetmetal, and are therefore easily manufactured. v V Y This invention alsoprovides an improved stylus mounting to improve sound recording andreproducing. t

One embodiment of the invention hereinafter referred to as a sound-boxmechanism is here shown as applied to a dictation machine and isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a frontelevation of the dictation machine, showing the aforementioned mechanismin position.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a sound-box mechanism, with the coverremoved, taken.

on line 22 of Fig. 1. v

Fig. 3 is a side plan view on line 33 of Fig. 1, and shows the mechanismin position for reproducing.

F ig. 4 is a side view partly in section taken on line 4-4 of Fig.1,,and shows the mecha-" nism :in position for recording.

F 1g. 5 1s a perspective view of the carriage frame made in accordancewith the present invention.

As usual in dictation machines, the soundbox 62 illustrated herein issliclably and piv-' otally mounted in a carriage 25 which trav gaging afeed-nut thereon so as to follow the sound grooves of a dictated record33 or to cut a helical groove in a blank record when recording. I j

y In accordance with the present invention, the carriage 25 instead ofbeing constituted by the usual intricateand complicated casting-consistsmerely of a sheet metal frame to provide an improved mounting for thesound-box 62. This frame has as itsmain parts a front wall 25a withintegral side walls 25?) which are bent rearwar dly toward the usualrecord-supporting mandrel 31 as shown in Figs. 1 and 4 and serve tosupport parts of the mechanismand stiifen the structure so as to makeitrigid. A sheet metal shelf 7 3 is located between the side walls 25b forslidably supporting a sleeve? 0" for the soundbox and adds to therigidity of the side-:walls 25band' provides a maximum of support forthe sound-boxcarrying sleeve when this is in its most extended position.V V In the present invention, sound is recorded on or reproduced fromthe record 33 supported by the mandrel 31 by a sound-box 62 mountedinthe carriage25, which isslidably mounted on the guide rods 23 and 24carried by the standards 21 and 22.. I v

' The sound-box 62 comprises a sound-conveying tube 68 and an invertedpan '63, having in which there is mounted a. recording stylus" 66 and areproducing stylus 67.

' The pan 63'is secured to asupporting and sound-conveying tube 68 whichis mounted in the carriage for free vertical movement so as toaccommodate itself to records of different thicknesses and so as to riseand fall in following the irregularities and eccentricities of therecord-surface. The pan 63 and tube 68 arefalso mounted for free lateralmovement when reproducing, and have longitudinal movement for changingfrom soundrecording to sound-reproducing positions,

the stylus 66 and 67 being set one in front of the other and beingbrought into positionto engage the record by the said longitudinalmovement of the. pan. 1

For these purposes, the tube 68 of the sound-box 62 is mounted onhorizontally disthe latter securedthereto by rubber gaskets posedtrunnions 69 in a sleeve 70 which in turn is mounted on verticallydisposed trunnions 69a mounted in a slide 71 and an arm 72 formedintegral With the slide. The slide 71 rides on a shelf 73 in thecarriage-frame 25 and is 'held and guided thereon by a pair of studs '74 threaded in the slide and having washers engaging the under-side ofthe shelf by the pressure of springs 75 located between the heads of theWashers and the heads of the studs.

For controlling the slide with the soundbox which it supports, there ispivotally mounted on a hollow stud 76 on one wall of the carriage-frame25, an arm 7 7 formed in tegral with a lever 78 extending through a slot79 in the carriage-frame. This arm 77 passes through an aperture in theshelf 73 and engages the walls of the slot 80 in the slide.Thearrangement is such that when the lever 78 is in its raised positionas seen in Fig. 4, the arm 77 has moved the slide 71 rearward'ly so thatthe recording stylus 66 is in engagement .with the record-surface. Whenthe lever 78 is lowered to its lowermost position, the arm 77 moves theslide forwardly and causes the reproducing stylus 67 to be located inrecord-engaging position.

In order that the styluses will not scratch the record surface when thepan 63 is shifted laterally and in order that the pan and the stylusesmay be held in inoperative position out of engagement with the recordwhen'the lever 78 is in an intermediate or neutral position, a sound-boxcontrolling lever 81 having'an arm 81a underlying the tube portion 68 ofthe sound-box is mounted "on a pivot 82 on the .slide 71 and this arm isprovided with cam surface 83 adapted to engage a stationary abutment 84mounted on the side wall of the carriage-frame. Hence, when the slide ismoved in and out of the carriage-frame, the pan is raised from therecord-surface, then moved longitudinally and then allowed to drop intorecord-engaging position as soon as the stylus to be used is inrecord-engaging position. Of course, when the lever 78 is in anintermediate position, the sound-box controlling lever 81 has theprotruding portion of its cam in engagement with the 'abutment84 andthis holds the pan with the stylus off the record-surface.

While the lateral movement of the sound box permitted by the trunnions69a is desired and necessary for free tracking movement of the sound-boxduring sound-reproducing, it is undesirable to havethis movement duringrecording, and hence the lower wall of the sleeve 70 is extendedrearwardly and is provided with a longitudinal slot 85 clearly showninFigures 2, 3 and 4 into which a holding pin 86 mounted in the shelf 73extends when the sleeve 70 is moved rearwardly to bring the recordingstylus into record- .65 engaging position. When the pin 86 is 10- catedin the slot 85 of the sleeve, no appreciable lateral movement of thesound-box is permitted, and consequently a true helical groove isinscribed on the record by the rotation of the mandrel and the travelingmovements of the carriage.

In the operation of reproducing sound, it is desirable to have a certainamount of downward pressure on the pan or sound-box to hold thereproducing stylus against the surface of the record. This is providedby a weight 87 having arms 88 movable on the horizontal pivots 89carried by the sleeve 70. However, it is not desirable to have thisweight on the sound-box or pan during recording operation, for in suchcase the recording stylus would out too deeply. To relieve the sound-boxor pan of the pressure of the Weight 87 during recording operation, theweight is provided with a rearwardly extending finger 90 adapted to moveupwardly into and drop upon a support 91, formed integral with a cover92 for the sound-box and soundbox carriage, when the sound-box .ismovedrearwardly to bring the recording stylus into engagement with therecord.

It will be seen that the construction provided can be made and assembledeconomically, for the slide and the parts mounted thereon constitute acomplete unit which can be placed upon the shelf 73 in the carriageandcan be secured thereto by the two simple screw studs 74.

For the purpose of providing a coupling between the supporting andconveying tube 68 of the pan and a nozzle 93 on the carriage to which a.speaking tube 94 maybe secured, there'is provided a coupling tube 95located within an enlarged end 96 of the conveying tube 68 and flaringoutwardly until it snugly fits the inside wall of the nozzle 93 on whichit slides during the reciprocatory movements of the slide 71 and tube68.

The sound-box carriage shown can also be economically manufactured, forit consists of a sheet metal stamped and formed to shape, so as to havea front wall and two side walls for supporting the mechanism which itcontains.

The sound-box carriage also supports a 1 5 feed-nut 97 which is adaptedto engage a f eedscrew 98 journalled in the standards 21 and 22 of theframe ofthe machine. The'feednut 97 is mounted in aframe 99 pivoted at100 in the side walls of the carriage andprovided with a spring 101 fornormally urging. the feed-nut towards the feed-screw. In order torelease the feed-nut when the control lever 78 is shifted toneutralposition so that the carriage may be moved to positionto start anew record or to any other position with respect of the record-surface,the control lever 78 is provided with a lug or arm 102 adapted to engagecam surfaces 103 on'the nut-frame 99 during the shifting of the lever toneutral position in which position the lever is frictionally detained bya dwell 104 into which the lug extends, and in this positionv thefeed-nut is held out of engagement with the feed-screw. The arrangementis such between the lug 102 and the cam surfaces 103 that the arm 7 7engaging the slide 71 moves the slide sufficiently to cause bothstyluses to be off the record-surface before the feed-nut is withdrawnfrom engagement with the feedscrew. This arrangement prevents thecarriage from being moved laterally by hand while either stylus is inengagement with the record surface.

It will be noted that the feed-nut 97 instead of being merely mounted onan arm is mounted on a broad plate or frame and this is done so that theplate will protect the feednut and feed-screw from dust or the shavingsfrom the record and so as to close theback of the sound-box carriage 25against tampering by curious persons.

It-will be noted thatthe feed-nut frame 99 performs three function's-(1)to carry the feed-nut into and out of engagement with the feed-screw;(2) to keep the feed-screw and feed-nut clean; and (3) to serve as adetent for holding the control lever in neutral position. i

The control lever is held in reproducing and recording positions againstaccidental movement by a spring detent engaging dwells or notches 106 inan arcuate extension of the arm 102 on the control lever.

The simple operation of moving the lever 78 from recording toreproducing position causes the last few lines of recording to bereproduced without moving the carriage 25 backwardly. This isaccomplished by offsetting the reproducing stylus 67 longitudinally ofthe machine with respect of the re cording stylus 66 and the extent ofoffset is sufficient to just reproduce the last portion of the matterrecorded. Conversely, when the matter recorded has been reproduced andthe operator desires to again record, the movement of the control lever7 8 to recording position causes the recording stylus to engage therecord in advance of the last groove recorded. Hence, there is no dangerof the recording stylus re-engaging a groove which is already recordedand obliterating the matter recorded.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of thisinvention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having now described the invention, what is claimed as new and for whichit is desired to obtain Letters-Patent, is

1. In a phonograph, in combination, a frame, a record-support rotatablymounted on'said frame, a sound-box, a'carriage for the sound-b0x mountedon said frame and comprising a sheet metal member having only side wallsand a connecting front wall, and means between the walls of said'memberfor slidably mounting the sound-box.

2. In a phonograph, the combination of a frame; a record-supportrotatably mounted on said frame; a sound-box; a carriage for ithesound-box mounted on said frame and comprising a sheet-metal memberhaving a front ,walland also having side-wallsxintegra l with thefront-wall and extending rear- .wardly toward the record-support;.=and asheet-metal shelf located between said sidewalls and adapted toslidablysupport the sound-box.v 1

3. In a phonograph, in combination, a frame, a record-support rotatablymounted on said frame, a sound-box, a carriage :for the sound-boxmounted on said frame "and comprising a sheet metal member having onlysidewalls and a connecting front wall,

means between the walls of said member for slidably mounting-thesound-box, and a sec- .ond sheet metal member secured to said'firstsheet metal member and forming a protective I tending rearwardly towardthe record-sup- .port; a sheet-metal shelf mounted between theside-walls; a slide mounted on said shelf;

and means on the slide for carrying the sound-box.

5. In aphonograph, .in combination, a frame, a record-supportrotatablymounted on said .frame, a sound-box, a traveling carriage for thesound-box mounted on the frame and comprising a member open at its rearend toward the record-support and having a front wall and a pair ofrearwardly extending side walls, feed mechanism for the carriagecomprising a feed-screw and a feednut, and a plate on which the feed-nutis supported, said plate being pivotally mounted between said side wallsof said member and adjacent the rear edges thereof, whereby said plateserves as a closure for the rear end of said carriage member. I

6. In a phonograph, the combination of a frame; a record-supportrotatably mounted on said frame; a sound-box; a traveling carriage forthe sound-box mounted on the frame and comprising a member open on theside adjacent the record-support; feed-mechanism for the carriagecomprising a feedscrew and a feed-nut; and a plate carried by thecarriage on which the feed-nut is mounted, said plate being locatedbetween the record-support and the feed-screw, and the nut being locatedon the plate at a point remote from the record-support whereby shavingsfrom. arecord-support carried'by the record :arecprevent'ed ifromfalling upon the feednut.

7. In a phonograph, the combination with a frame, a record-supportmounted on said :frame, a sound-box, a tone-tube supporting isaidsound-box, a carriage movably mounted -:on said frame, a slide mountedon said carriage for sliding movement transversely of saidrecord-support, said tone-tube being :1 ivotal'ly. mounted on saidslide, and a lever givoted .on said slide and having a portionunderlying said tone-tube for raising said tone-tube and sound-box awayfrom sald rec ord-supportat certain points in the path of -movement ofsaid slide. 7 8. In a phonograph, the combination of a frame, arecord-support mounted longitudi- -na'l ly thereof, a sound-box, atone-tube supporting said sound-box, a carriage movably mountedlongitudinally of said frame, means --for mounting said tone-tube on thecarriage .for sliding movement transversely of said record-support, alever pivoted on said mounting means having a portion underlymg saidtone-tube, and means posltloned on the carriage adapted at certainpoints in the path of movement of said mounting means to liftsaid leverand cause said sound-box to assume inoperative positions relative tosald record-support. 1

9.-In a phonograph, 1n comblnatlon, a

irame a record-support mounted thereon, a

sound-box, a carriage for the sound-box mounted on .theframe andcomprising a sheet :metal member conslstlng solely of a front Wall andintegral side walls'which extend rearwardly toward the record-support,and a cover for the carriage adapted to overlap and'enga'gevthe frontwall and embrace the side Walls of said members to prevent said -sideWalls from being sprung apart. Signed at Bridgeport, in the county ofFairfield, and State of Connecticut, this 26th day of April .1927.

ALFRED V. BODINE.

GERTIFIGATE 0F CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,876,273. September 6, 1932.

ALFRED V. BODINE.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction asiollows: Page 1,line 79, strikev out the words "the iatter" and insert the same before"having" in line 78; page 4, line 1, claim 6, for the compound Word"record-support" read record, and same line, for "record" readrecord-support; and line 41, claim 9, for "members" read member; andthat the said Letters Patent should be read with these correctionstherein that the same may conform to the record of the case in thePatent Office.

Signed and sealed this 22nd day of November, A. D. 1932.

M. J. Moore,

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

